Cushioned-base rubber stamp mounts

ABSTRACT

A hand stamp for applying print to a flat surface which includes a base having a bottom surface with a yielding surface printing plate secured thereto. The upper surface of the base defines a rectilinear slot and a scale is imposed on the upper surface adjacent the slot. A handle is inserted in the slot at a position centered between the ends of the slot as determined by the scale.

United States Patent 798,686 9/1905 Lodge 880,225

Inventor Miguel A. Puerta 1164 Alta Ave. Apt. 13, NE, Atlanta, Ga. 30307 Appl. No. 848,385

Filed July 11, 1969 Patented Aug. 24, 1971 CUSHlONED-BASE RUBBER STAMP MOUNTS 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 101/368, 101/405 Int. Cl. B4lk 1/02 Field 01 Search 101/368, 371, 405, 406, 327, 379

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1908 Lamb et a1. 101/379 Kennedy et a1. Medearis Hellesoe Hahn Wold

Tannery Muskin Bostrorn Pn'mary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-E. M. Coven Attorney-Jones & Thomas 101/368 l01/368X l01/405X 101/368 l0l/368X 101/405 X l01/405X ABSTRACT: A hand stamp for applying print to a flat surface which includes a base having a bottom surface with a yielding surface printing plate secured thereto. The upper surface of the base defines a rectilinear slot and a scale is imposed on the upper surface adjacent the slot. A handle is inserted in the slot at a position centered between the ends of the slot as determined by the scale.

Patented Aug. 24, 1971 3,601,050

FIG.4

FIG.3

FIG.5

la INVENTOR.

FIGS HG] MIGUEL A. PUERTA 0011144 ATTORNEYS CUSHIONED-BASE RUBBER STAMP MOUNTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the manufacture of hand stamps, it is important to attach the handle of the stamp at the center of the base of the stamp, and to center the imprinting rubber seal on the bottom surface of the base. If the stamp has been properly constructed, when it is applied to paper, etc. it will not tend to tilt or rock, but will be evenly applied so that the print made by the stamp is perfectly formed.

In the hand stamp manufacturing process, the seal is usually the first element which is manufactured, and the handle and base are chosen in a proper size to accommodate the seal. The wooden base is fabricated by choosing an elongated strip of wood of a width as wide as necessary to accommodate the stamp seal and by cutting a length from the strip of wood which will accommodate the length of the stamp seal. The block or base so out then has the seal applied to its bottom surface and the handle is attached to its top surface. A hole is usually drilled in the top surface of the block or base of the stamp at its center point, and the handle usually includes a dowel or pin which is inserted in the hole and retained therein by a wedge fit, by threads or by glue, etc. The drilling of the hole at the center of the stamp base must be carefully performed in order that the handle is properly positioned above the center of the stamp. Of course, since the size of the stamp base varies in accordance with the size of the seal applied to the bottom surface of the stamp, the centering of the hole for the handle must be carefully done for each stamp and the position of the holes for stamp bases cannot be standardized for all stamps without sacrificing the balance of the stamps.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the present invention comprises a hand stamp for applying print to a flat surface and which includes a base defining a rectilinear groove across its top surface. A scale is imposed on the top surface of the base, and the handle of the stamp is inserted in the groove and positioned at onehalf the length of the groove, which is the center of the base. The scale is imprinted along the entire length of the material from which the base is cut, so that the length of the base can be determined by the scale and the position of the handle with respect to the base is determined by the same scale.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a hand stamp which is easy to manufacture, of simple construction, and which eliminates the requirement of forming a hole in the top surface of the base for the attachment of the stamp handle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a virtually perfectly balanced hand stamp which can be expediently produced at minimal costs.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the handle of the hand stamp.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the base of the hand stamp.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the base of a modified form of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a closure bar for insertion into the slot of the base on opposite sides of the handle.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a connecting wedge for insertion into the locking groove of the base.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective detailed illustrations of the connecting portions of modified handles.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in which like 4 FIG. 1 illustrates the handle 10 of a hand stamp and includes a lower connecting portion 11 and an upper hand grip 12'. FIG. 2 illustrates a block or base l4'which includes upper or top surface 15, side surfaces 16, end surfaces 17, and bottom or lower surface 18. Base 14 of FIG. 2 is of rectangular configuration, and its surfaces are approximately flat. A resilient pad 19 of a soft, rubberlike material is applied to the bottom surface 18 of base 14 by an adhesive (not shown). A seal or printing plate (not shown) which carries the indicia to be applied to various objects is attached to pad 19. The length and width of base 14 is chosen to be compatible with the length and width of the seal.

Open-ended slot 20 is defined in the top surface 15 of base 14. Slot 20 is rectilinear and is positioned halfway between side surfaces 16 of base 14. Slot 20 includes inner surface 21, upwardly and inwardly inclined surfaces 22 and 23 and side surfaces 24 and 25 which intersect the top surface 15 of base 14. Inner surface 21 is undercut with locking groove 26.

The top surface'lS of base 14 Carries scales 27 and 28 adjacent open ended slot 20. Scales 27 and 28 extend parallel to slot 20 and the markings along the scales are equally spaced apart.

Base 14 can be fabricated of plastic or aluminum, usually by extrusion in the form of a long length of material. Thescales 27 and 28 can be imposed on top surface 15 by any conventional procedure. When a seal has been fabricated and a base is required to carry the seal, the piece from which base 14 is fabricated is chosen so that its width is proper to carry the seal, and the piece is cut so that base 14 is long enough to accommodate the seal. The workman can measure the length of base 14 by using scales 27 and 28 and form his cut in the length of material along the scales to form base 14.

Handle 10 is connected to the base 14 by inserting its lower connecting portion 11 into open ended slot 20 from one end of the slot. Arrow 30 of handle 10 is centered in the handle and the handle is moved along slot 20 until arrow 30 is adjacent the portion of scale 27 or 28 which represents the center or midpoint of the length of the scale and base 14. When handle 10 has been properly positioned in slot 20, one or more connecting wedges 21 (FIG. 5) are inserted into locking grooves 26 of base 14 and complementary locking groove 32 in the lower connecting portion 11 of handle 10. This forms a permanent wedge fit between handle 10 and base 14. In addition, glue can be applied between base 14 and handle 10, if desired.

In order to close slot 20 on opposite sides of handle 10, closure bars 34 which generally conform in size and shape to slot 20 can be inserted into the ends of the slot. While closure bars 34 are not required in the assembly, their presence closes the slot and creates a pleasing appearance on the upper surface of the the hand stamp.

As is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lower connecting portion of the handle can vary. Also, the slot to which the connecting portions of the handle is connected must be formed with a complementary shape. As is illustrated in FIG. 6, the sloped side surfaces of the lowering connecting portions of handle 10 can be modified so that they are substantially flat and parallel to the bottom surfaces as indicated at 35. In addition, FIG. 7 illustrates that this locking portion of the lower connecting portion of the handle can include upwardly extending flanges 36. Of course, various other forms or shapes can be chosen, as might be desirable for various different situations.

As is illustrated in FIG. 3, circular or round base 38 can be utilized where a circular seal is required. The circular base 38 if formed with the open-ended slot 39 which is substantially identical to open-ended slot 20 of base 14. The use of circular base 38 reduces the likelihood of forming a smear by rocking the hand stamp as the print from the stamp is being applied to the paper, and the circular bases are constructed individually and are formed in different diameters, usually in a graduated size of H] 6-inch diameters to accommodate seals of different sizes. The arrow of the handle will be placed at the center of the scale, which places the handle at the center of the base.

While this invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described hereinbefore and as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A printing member comprising a base including upper and lower surfaces, yielding surface printing plate secured to the lower surface of said base, a rectilinear groove defined in the upper surface of said base, a scale imposed on said upper surface of said base and extending along said groove, and a handle including a connecting portion of a shape complementary to said groove rigidly connected to said groove with the center of the handle positioned at one-half the length of the groove.

2. The printing member of claim 1 and wherein said base is generally rectangular block and said rectilinear groove is positioned parallel to the length of said block and centered between the sides of the block and opensthrough the ends of said block.

3. The printing member of claim -1 andwherein said scale is imposed on said upper surface of said block adjacent said groove.

4. A hand stamp for applying print to a'flat surface comprising a generally rectangular base including a bottom surface, a top surface, side surfaces and end surfaces, a rectilinear slot defined in said top surface and extending through said end surfaces, said slot being centered between said side surfaces and including an inner surface and inwardly inclined side surfaces to form an opening of less width than the width of said slot, the inner surface including a scale having equally spaced indicia imposed on the top surface of said block adjacent said slot, a handle including a connecting portion of a shape complementary to said slot inserted in said slot, and the center of said handle being positioned at one-half the length of said slot. 

1. A printing member comprising a base including upper and lower surfaces, yielding surface printing plate secured to the lower surface of said base, a rectilinear groove defined in the upper surface of said base, a scale imposed on said upper surface of said base and extending along said groove, and a handle including a connecting portion of a shape complementary to said groove rigidly connected to said groove with the center of the handle positioned at one-half the length of the groove.
 2. The printing member of claim 1 and wherein said base is generally rectangular block and said rectilinear groove is positioned parallel to the length of said block and centered between the sides of the block and opens through the ends of said block.
 3. The printing member of claim 1 and wherein said scale is imposed on said upper surface of said block adjacent said groove.
 4. A hand stamp for applying print to a flat surface comprising a generally rectangular base including a bottom surface, a top surface, side surfaces and end surfaces, a rectilinear slot defined in said top surface and extending through said end surfaces, said slot being centered between said side surfaces and including an inner surface and inwardly inclined side surfaces to form an opening of less width than the width of said slot, the inner surface including a scale having equally spaced indicia imposed on the top surface of said block adjacent said slot, a handle including a connecting portion of a shape complementary to said slot inserted in said slot, and the center of said handle being positioned at one-half the length of said slot. 